SIS comes back with the App-O-Rama FAQ - AKA MAKING THOUSANDS OF $$ FROM CREDIT Link AOR stories and post your successes

Quick Question:

Here's my example I am curious about, for simplicity sake let's say i have multiple cards from chase, citi, and AMEX. If I BT the max I can get from Chase and citi but don't touch my AMEX cards, would my credit score get it bad if my AMEX's left it so that my total utilization was under 50%? OR would I be better off keeping all three under 50% as a group? I ask b/c AMEX has no 0% BT offers going on right now, but they've been very generous with the credit limit to help my total overall picture. I'm just trying get a grasp on what happens when you do the actions above. Also, does it help my credit score more if i run one of the BT's (say Citi) through a Citi business? I believe the answer to that is yes, so if my thinking is sound, one would want to combine as many personal credit limits to business cards as possible to take advantage, correct? Thanks in advance.

natureabor said: Alright guys...I have an extremely stupid inquiry here, and this may not be the place for it...so if anyone can point me to a good "App-O-Rama for dummies" link/thread, I'd appreciate. (yeah, i've searched but i don't understand how it works) So, how does it work? Could ya post a step by step? what's the point of it? All I know so far is, you apply for a bunch of credit offers in one day, and it doesn't affect your credit as much, and I was just about to apply for a bunch of credit cards anyway, when I ran into this AOR strategy
Read the very first post in this thread, that's the easiest way I can explain it.

I have a few questions about AORs:

It is possible to do an AOR with a blank credit report (or a blank report with a hard pull or 2 from banks)?

What is B*?

I looked around but couldn't find anything. About how long do you wait for all your 1099 forms to come in off of all the free $100 sign ups, Ipods, etc. before you feel safe to do your taxes? Is there ever a case where they're not reported (like do I do a straight check off of all my bonuses or if it's like May can I safely do my taxes)?

The general guideline is that tax forms are supposed to be mailed by January 31 of the subsequent year(end of this month). I would say that if you haven't received it by February 15th, go ahead and file.

Unless you are expecting a ton of these, I wouldn't think it would affect your taxable income by much. Also, if you are going to get audited, the IRS, like everyone else, looks at bang for the buck. They aren't going to do a full blown audit of you unless they think it will reveal more than a missing 1099 or two, or if you have a number of other "red flags" The audit has to pay the auditor's rate in new tax liability.

Also, AFAIK, you won't get a 1099 for an IPOD or other non-cash incentives. That's why many prefer the gift card or ff miles to cash. That's different for big ticket items like sweepstakes winnings, but it's also a different thread topic...

http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=98114,00.html - link to the guide on information returns (what the providers have to send out, ie W-2, 1099, etc.)

Form:1099-INT
Title:Interest Income
What to Report:Interest Income
Amounts to Report:$10 or more ($600 or more in some cases)
Due Date to IRS: 28-Feb
Due Date to Recipient (unless indicated otherwise):31-Jan
.
edited to provide link

Theres a difference between bank account bonuses/promos and credit card promos. Bank account bonuses, even for "gifts" such as Ipods often do come with 1099s.

Rarely does anyone ever get a 1099 from a CREDIT CARD signup bonus... Ive done numerous App-O-Rama binges and friends and family have as well, never received a 1099.

From past discussions in this forum, the difference seems to be that CC rewards, Cash/points Back and signup promos are viewed like rebates - that is, as a "discount" off items purchased, which is not taxable income. Bank account bonuses are not discounts.

Hi everybody,

I have a question about 0% for Life deals and Citibank overpayment in the context of AORs:
Has anyone had problems overpaying a Citi account to get a refund check while carrying a large for-life balance on another Citi card? I could imagine BofA (for example) holding up the money or trying to apply it towards the other account.

I ask because I'm considering an AOR and considering paying down my 0% offer (17k on a 25k line) to make sure I can transfer my other 0% money, but I do have another Citi account ($1k credit line) which I could presumably use. My total credit lines across the board are about 160k and I'll pay off everything except for the 17k for sure, so overall utilization isn't really an issue.

Thanks!

Thanks, sonny, that helps a lot. As one of my oldest accounts is a Citi card, I'll probably end up paying off the 0% offer. I figure I'll just get another 20k transfer from Citi to replace it.

cashmonkey said: Thanks, sonny, that helps a lot. As one of my oldest accounts is a Citi card, I'll probably end up paying off the 0% offer. I figure I'll just get another 20k transfer from Citi to replace it.why would you payoff the 0% for life offer just to replace it with a limited time 0% offer?

I wanted to do another App-O-Rama very soon since my 0% BTs all expire, or have expired. However, I haven't been getting ANY CC offers in the mail any more. Today I went ahead and signed up for Privacy Matters 1-2-3 to see what's going on. I took a little hit in FICO scores this last year but still not bad. Here's my info:

Scores:
TransUnion 738
Experian 736
Equifax 765

Report Summary: Trans Union Experian Equifax
TOTAL ACCOUNTS: 13 38 36
OPEN ACCOUNTS: 1 10 13
CLOSED ACCOUNTS: 12 28 23
DELINQUENT: 0 0 0
DEROGATORY: 0 0 0
BALANCES: $0.00 $296221.00 $296221.00
PAYMENTS: $0.00 $2702.00 $2702.00
PUBLIC RECORDS: 0 0 0
INQUIRIES(2 years): 10 3 5

Statitics:
Family income $120K (they think), starting this year it's $130+K/year
Total CC utilization is about 32%.
Equity Line of Credit is $13K or $75K, or 17%.

I have one 0% offer still going and that is from Chase.
Citi 0% offer is paid off as of early Dec and it shows it at a $0 balance on credit report.
I have an outstanding offer from 5th/3rd Bank that I was waiting to take advantage of until I was ready to get 3 new cards (1 Citi, 1 Chase, and then the 5th/3rd). Possibly an BoA card too. I'm more interested in being able to roll 0% BTs then I am in getting signup bonuses (although I'm thinking that is what screwed me over because I applied for 3 cards last year simply to get the signup bonues).

Any ideas on what is wrong? Has my credit scores dropped to much to get those offers now?

sonnysighedup said: Baldrick, Sylock: I have a post here detailing my experience in response to a Fifth Third pre-approved offer that may or may not be of use to you both.

Thanks alot. The $15K is a little short, but the 'scary' thing is the 4 day delay. I was hoping it was done on the spot. Thanks for the info. Any idea on why I have stopped recieving all those 0% BTs in the mail ?

removed misinformation.

SUCKISSTAPLES said: cashmonkey said: Thanks, sonny, that helps a lot. As one of my oldest accounts is a Citi card, I'll probably end up paying off the 0% offer. I figure I'll just get another 20k transfer from Citi to replace it.why would you payoff the 0% for life offer just to replace it with a limited time 0% offer?1) I'll probably get a larger BT for the limited time
2) I'll raise fewer red flags when I overpay Citi from other issuers <-- my biggest concern
3) I won't have to worry about making two purchases a month (what with all the new card payments I'll be making)
4) Citi has been denying CLIs because my payments to them have been low, so I can pay off and request CLI and then AOR
It seems the month or two of lost interest is worth it.

how is it possible to do multiple AORs? would you have to close all your accounts once the introductory rate expires? do the records of these accounts stay on your credit history?

also, will it permanently negatively effect my credit history to have large outstanding balances vs. my available credit? how much of my available credit is it recommended to BT in order to protect my credit rating?

ezekiel856 said: also, i am a college student with limited credit history.

i have one card, a citi mastercard dividends platinum with a 1,200 CL that i've had for 2-3 months. Before I do my AOR I will pay down the balance on this card to 0 (i've never had a statement balance on the card).

which/how many cards do you suggest i apply for? is this going to mess up my credit score? is this going to make me look sketchy at job interviews when they search my credit history?

A lot of this is answered in the first post of this thread. You need to read through the thread. It's long, but well worth it. I wouldn't worry about the employment part unless you are graduating this semester. Even then, it might not be worth the worry. If that's the case, though, wait until you have income. Your credit score will take a temporary hit from all the inquiries. The damage ages off fairly quickly (general consensus seems to be about 6 months). Your score will likely go up once the inquiry damage has passed, with the higher limits, more lines, and you have a short credit history, so the 'damage' from that aspect should be minimal.

Read some of the recent AORs (see the Quick Summary of this thread for links) for ideas on which cards to apply for, and search out some yourself at the major issuers you know and from issuers you find in others' AOR threads.

ezekiel856 said: i read through almost the whole thread i can't find specific responses to what i asked so thanks for any help you can provide

Isn't learning fun? There are no specific responses to what you've asked, simply "it depends..." I would suggest you keep reading AOR threads, specifically individual threads, adverse action threads, etc. Those will at least give more insight into other people's experiences for you to make your own decisions.

As far as some quick basics, for starters, you may want to focus on the bonuses for signing up for different credit card offers at first. That way, you're just worried about getting accepted to qualify for the bonus instead of getting a large credit line to invest in HYS. But, I would keep reading up and consider everything you have to keep track of, make sure you can manage the accounts as liabilities that you will eventually need to pay back, and not a sudden windfall that you can splurge with.

The objective of multiple AORs is to consolidate older credit lines into new credit lines with 0% BT offers, although some are reporting that this is coming under increased scrutiny. Also, as your CL may increase over time, you would be able to derive additional benefit for increased interest earnings when using higher CLs.

For potential employers, my experience has been that usually reviewing the credit limit is a formality before you start, like getting fingerprinted, just to make sure you aren't a fugitive - a deal breaker. The potential employer may have second thoughts if you haven't taken responsibility for your accounts, such as past due debts, bankruptcy, etc. especially if you would have some type of control over money while working for them. I have never actually been asked about my credit report in a job interview, but it seems they always ask for your permission to review it. Besides, as ccyle mentioned, the damage to your credit score from inquiries ages off over time, hopefully before you would start the interviewing process.

ezekiel856 said: i read through almost the whole thread i can't find specific responses to what i asked so thanks for any help you can provideSpecific answers - You can typically have multiples of the same card (and most issuers offer many many different cards); and high balances only hurt your score while the balances are outstanding - pay off the balance and they dont hurt anymore.

I have read many AOR threads and am on page 19 of this and there is 1 question I cannot find the answer to:

I know the original post said to apply for them in the morning. I work 8-5 and wouldn't be able to do this. Is there a negative or downside to doing my AOR at 7 pm at night?

only 66 more pages to go!

Thanks Glitch!!!

None of the applications were approved/denied at the time of the application.